Crorepati MPs double in LS, average assets tripled: ADR

The number of MPs with assets worth over Rs one crore has doubled in the present Lok Sabha compared to the preceding one as the average worth of assets of an MP has nearly tripled, a report has said.

The number of crorepati MPs has increased from 156 in 2004 to 315 in 2009, while the average worth of assets of an MP in the Lower House has gone up from Rs 1.86 crore to Rs 5.33 crore in the last five years, said the report compiled by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The report, which has been prepared on the basis of affidavits filed by the MPs during elections, said there has been a huge increase in the worth of the assets of the 304 MPs of last Lok Sabha who contested the polls in 2009 also.

The average worth of assets of these MPs was Rs 1.92 crore in 2004. But in 2009, the average worth of assets of these leaders increased to Rs 4.8 crore, marking an increase of Rs 2.9 crore, the report said.

About 20 per cent members in the present Lok Sabha have assets worth over Rs five crore each. The number of members having assets worth between Rs 50 lakh to Rs five crore is 294, accounting for more than 50 per cent of total strength.

The number of MPs in Lok Sabha with assets worth less than Rs 10 lakh is only 17, the report said.

The Congress Party has maximum number of 146 crorepati MPs in the 15th Lok Sabha, followed by 59 from BJP, 14 from Samajwadi Party and 13 each from BSP and DMK, the report said.